Fuzzy green leaves, tinged with red, and elongated flower buds grow at the end of a smooth, reddish brown branch on an Aurora haskap bush
I did a brief garden check after the mild flooding earlier this week
My haskap bushes clearly weren't hurt by all the extra moisture
#canadiangardening
Two 9-cell tray inserts are brimming with medium green, toothed, trifoliate leaves. Some cells have only one plant but several cells have 2-3 less developed seedlings growing in clumps (the strawberry seeds, though yellow in colour, are small enough that it's difficult to see where they end up while sowing) There were 38 young plants between the two inserts
A grid of nine 3 inch pots which hold one small strawberry plant in each, waiting to be watered before returning to grow shelves
A long overdue task completed: potting up the 'heirloom pineapple' alpine strawberries
It was a slow (almost agonizing) start to grow these from seed, but, having seen the results, I'll likely never buy strawberry plants again
#gardensky
#growyourown
#canadiangardening
In the foreground, the green cotyledons and true leaves of a Canada tick trefoil are illuminated by bright afternoon light. Water droplets cover most of the cotyledons. In the background to the right, a second seed has germinated and is breaking through the soil While the seed packet didn't specify to do so, I scarified the seeds (lightly with sandpaper) to improve my germination rates
It seems like I'll have at least two Canada (showy) tick-trefoils for the pollinator garden this year
#nativeplants
#Canadiangardening
An extreme close-up of a new leaf on a foam flower whose shape is hard to make out due to all the fuzz. The stems are reddish with white fuzzy while the leaves are light green
Here comes the fuzz
#nativeplants
#canadiangardening
A black tray insert, with six cells, is filled with damp soil and lightly topped with tan coloured vermiculite. Some of the cells, which were sown with seeds for tea garden plants on March 22nd, already show signs of germination: three larger sprouts (on the left) are cornflowers, two tiny sprouts in the middle row, toward the bottom of the image, is common yarrow, and toward the bottom on the right are four small feverfew sprouts (tetra white wonder)
My #nativeplant seeds may not amount to much this year but my tea garden seeds are off a decent start
#flowerreport
#canadiangardening
Canadian Gardening Zones: Planting Schedules and Start Dates
Read more: 👇
www.thecanadareport.ca/canadian-gardening-zones...
#canadiangardening #gardeningzones #plantingschedules #canadaplants #gardeningtips #zoneplanting #canadagardens
New growth on a now second year wild bergamot plants has appeared after a few days of temperatures warm enough to melt the giant snow pile that had been covering this pollinator garden. This is the first bit of new growth spotted this year
New growth on a columbine that had been completed ravaged by pests last year. I had forgotten about it after the first heavy snowfall last fall and checked on it last week but there was nothing coming at that point
I was briefly relieved to see the foliage of my New Jersey tea until I realized the stem wasn't attached to anything. I dug up what was left and potted it to see if new growth will appear as the roots, though very wet, seem robust enough
Two wins and a loss during a brief garden inspection today
✅ Wild bergamot
✅ Columbine
❌ New Jersey tea
#nativeplants
#canadiangardening
An overtop view of two potted plants: a small but bushy pineapple sage plant with vivid green leaves (bottom) and a pineapple mint whose leaves are both very textured and green and buttery yellow in colour
Does my favourite garden already have some potted #herbs available?
Yes, yes it does
#teagarden
#canadiangardening
An image of a yellow and blue hydrant in the midst of a garden on a corner lot. Someone with a sense of humour has added large googly eyes, making the hydrant look like a cartoon character. Photo taken last summer
15 days until spring 🌱
Last year I took my toddler for many walks around the neighbourhood, just to look at flowers and insects
On one particular occasion, something looked back
#yellowthursday
#canadiangardening
A view of a long native plant/pollinator garden that had been recently started. Many of the plants were grown from seeds meaning they either didn't flower during their first season (such as coneflower, wild bergamot, milkweed varieties). There will be much more colour among the green foliage this coming season. The only flowers in this picture are pink roses from a very established bush and some bright blue bachelor buttons that just appeared in my yard in the spring. Photo taken last June
50 days until spring 🌱
Thinking about last year's gardening projects as I plan out the new garden beds for this year
#nativeplants
#canadiangardening
Tiny flowers of a white vervain plant mingle with the larger yellow heads of rudbeckia. Photo taken mid summer last year
A clump of brilliant white trilliums, our provincial flower, grows as the odd man out in a garden of emerging hostas. Photo taken mid spring last year
60 days until spring 🌱
There was a out of control hosta bed deep in my backyard
I was just going to rip the everything out to replace it all with #nativeplants when I discovered there were a few already growing
#tinyflowertuesday
#canadiangardening
Several recyclable containers sit in a deep bank of snow. They are each filled with potting soil and planted with native plant seeds, including: butterfly weed, boneset, cardinal flower, several types of coneflowers, white wild indigo, bottle gentian, prairie dropseed and swamp milkweed
After weeks of planning, gathering, and waiting, winter sowing is finally underway
Let the cold stratification begin
#nativeplants
#wintersowing
#canadiangardening
A close-up of several cherry tomatoes in various stages of ripening
66 days until spring 🌱
A little bit of glossy perfection for #redwed
#growyourown
#canadiangardening
A close-up of nearly star-shaped blossoms which are a light pink on the edges and a brighter and deeper pink in the center. Several buds are unopened which are also the deeper pink shade
68 days until spring 🌱
A double dose for #pinkmon
#flowers
#Canadiangardening
A hooded flower grows among the shiny leaves and blue-purple flowers of periwinkle. The spathe is bright green topside with maroon stripes on the underside and covers the spike of tiny flowers growing in the center
70 days until spring 🌱
To start a countdown while observing #greensat, here's a surprise* jack-in-the-pulpit I discovered while tidying an overgrown section of my yard last spring
(*2025 marked the fifth spring here and I'd never noticed this plant before)
#nativeplants
#Canadiangardening
The one upside to the whole family being sick over the holiday break?
All the jugs of distilled water we need for the humidifiers = eventual containers for winter sowing
Otherwise, the plague upon our house can (insert Simon Pegg gesture here) jog on
#seeds
#nativeplants
#Canadiangardening
A large collection of mostly native plant seeds with some herbs, grouped based on where in the yard they'll be planted in the spring or by their purpose. The piles to the left will be in a tea garden, the ones in the middle will be host plants (and the pile on the right are seeds I planted last year but will sow more of this year if I gather enough containers for winter sowing 😬)
Hello, 2026
The day began with blue skies, sunshine, and a lady cardinal in our front tree
Then the snow squalls started up again (plus it's -19°C with the wind chill)
So I'm ignoring the weather and spending the first day of the year organizing my seed stash
#nativeplants
#canadiangardening
Frost covers bright green clover and red and orange-brown leaves. The sugar-like coating makes the colours pop
Crisp frost yesterday
Thunderous drab clouds today
Fall in Canada
#greenSat
#nomowlawn
#Canadiangardening
But then another bad news dropped. And another one. So that’s enough, here’s some plants from my garden to distract you from the world for a moment.
#gardening #flowers #echinacea #tulip #dahlia #canadiangardening
A small deep green shrub dusted with snow is being guarded from wildlife by a few layers of garden fencing (apparently its roots are tasty)
My tiny shrub looks more like a prisoner than something under protection
But, despite three days of intermittent snowfall, it seems to be doing ok
(With no signs of squirrel sabotage as yet 🤞)
#nativeplants
#Canadiangardening
A small green shrub, freshly planted, is surrounded by several layers of garden fencing, creating a triangular formation
I can't tell in the dusk if the, uh, fortification of my New Jersey tea shrub is overkill or not
But bunnies are always lurking
And I've made enemies out of the backyard squirrels this past week...I wouldn't put it past them to be petty
#nativeplants
#Canadiangardening
Before: a garden at the very back of my yard, in front of a line of tall, skinny cedars It is mostly hostas (several different varieties, none of which I can name), but growing underneath is a mass of periwinkle and lilies of the valley Also in this mix are six tall walnut saplings which had started to deeply root I've been able to save some native species (phlox, goldenrod, white vervain, and black-eyed Susans), but the hostas were removed in order the eliminate as many of the invasive plants as possible
After: most of the garden has been cleared away, save for a few large hostas and some native species which will stay where they are Some potted plants sit on the ground (blue false indigo, butterfly weed, and Sweet Joe pye weed), which have since been planted The new goal of this space will be to grow host plants for caterpillars and food sources for pollinators, choosing as many native or near native plants as possible
#Canadiangardening this year has been fun:
I've removed
- 4 rose of Sharons
- 6 walnut saplings
- dozens of invasive/unwanted plants (periwinkle and lilies of the valley are truly horrid)
I've found
- 5 railway spikes (I live by a railway)
- soooo many shells (I don't live near water)
#plantSky
A close up of a small bee nectaring on the tiny white flowers of a coral bell. This photo was taken over a month ago now
I miss the bees
It's a Thursday
So here's a throwback
#bees
#flowers
#Canadiangardening
A very muddy pair of brown boots sit in the sunshine in a sunroom to dry out. The heels are caked in dirt and leaves after a few hours of digging in the rain-soaked earth
I played in the rain yesterday
Actually, I'm demo-ed an overgrown garden, to make way for as many #nativeplants as possible, in the pouring rain
But my boots are now basically giant mud-and-leaf pies
#Canadiangardening
A close up of the flowers for a dotted mint. The tubular flowers are yellow with reddish purple dots. Fuzzy pale pink with green leaves, resembling petals, grow around the flowers.
For anyone looking for a native plant with lots of visual interest, may I present this dotted mint?
#flowers
#nativeplants
#Canadiangardening
A recently opened rose is the brightest pink it will be before it fades to a light pink. The magenta pink almost glows against the deep green stems and leaves of the rose bush
Having an orange brick house means I don't plant too many pink flowers
These roses were chosen by a previous owner
They're not my favourite flower but the deep magenta of the new blooms brightens up the long shadows of fall
#flowers
#pinkMon
#coloraday
#bloomscrolling
#Canadiangardening
A close up image of a blanket flower. Its red and yellow ray florets have been slowly developing over the last week and the colours appear much more prominent today than even Wednesday when I last checked it
A tall green native plant, with long stems and full, lobed leaves, grows in a mulched pollinator garden
My first-year blanket flower has shot up about 6 inches in the last month and a half
It's the most vigorous grower of all the native plants that I grew from seed this past spring
And it may even bloom soon!
#flowers
#nativeplants
#flowerreport
#Canadiangardening
A close up of a calico aster, which is coated with tiny drops of water
A clump of spiky and vivid purple New England aster are heavy with raindrops
After four days of varying intensities of rain, these little pretties have finally opened up
#flowers
#bloomscrolling
#Canadiangardening
Bright red flowers grow in front the green foliage of a hosta
So vivid, you need shades
#flowers
#redWed
#nativeplants
#Canadiangardening
A vibrant green plant, with bright pink flowers that resemble closed pouches, is planted in a garden with other native plants
After a summer of searching greenhouses, I finally found a turtlehead
Just in time for #pinkMon
#flowers
#nativeplants
#bloomscrolling
#Canadiangardening
